The Highwayman
by Uru Baen
Summary: Phil will get back to Keely... Or die trying. Pheely oneshot after Back to the Future, WARNING: SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 FINALE


The Highwayman

Phil will get back to Keely… Or die trying. (Set after "Back to the Future". Pheely One-Shot) WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR SEASON 2 FINALE

It had been a month since the day the Diffy's returned to the year 2121, or a century and 16 years, depending on your point of view. They had moved away from their home in Neo-modern America for their son. He would have a horrible retching reaction every time he was anyplace, or saw anything that he and Keely were. He had taken the loss of his new girlfriend hard, seeing as how the whole time he was there, they were as thick as thieves. The Diffy family had taken a temporary home in Scotland while they arranged for a home in England. Scotland, in 2050, was declared a national treasure, and only a set number of homes could be upon it.

They had chosen a home with much history; a stately house near a village, but the two were separated by a moor. The moor bordered a forest also very famous. They had chosen this house because it was the base for Phil's favorite book, indeed, a classic for many centuries at this point. One night, as his usual catharsis, he went upon the moor, trying to remember and relive the tale. What was unusual about this night was that his family had trusted him enough to go to sleep before letting him go out on the moor.

So, he took advantage of the opportunity to go along the road leading to the forest. What he did not notice were the clouds in the sky, the moon gently sailing in them, and the wind moving both, and making the trees whistle besides. It was… poetic, almost paranormally so. He then heard a stamping of hooves, and he saw a pale figure come from a building nearby, a very old sort of tavern, and stop next to him. The figure wore a scarlet knot of fabric, and had a rapier, and a pistol. Both very old styled, and very new, by the look of them. He spoke, and had a somewhat hoarse and distressed voice.

"As the whistling wind decries, as do the cloudy skies, as the sea, the stones, the rocks, the bones all tell thee, I will carry thee to what thou hast lost, to what must be, to what is you and another. I carry thee to thine true love, though Hell should bar the way. Affix thyself to mine back and not let go. I will carry thee through time and space, and climb the spiral stair to Olympus if need be."

And Phil hopped on, no questions asked. The horse whinnied and they rode into the past. A century passed before their eyes, and then, to Phil's surprise, they stopped before Keely's eyes. Phil dismounted at the man's command, and he rode off into the sunlit lands. This was the moment that he had left, and Keely clasped him to her breast, as if he was a talisman, lost to the ages until this moment. Phil explained the Highwayman legend, and she was abashed at having missed it in class.

And at the very minute he did that, he fingered the WZ'RD in his pocket, knowing it'd be a blaster at need, should _they_ attempt to follow him. Keely barreled into the house, and Phil became a church mouse as he stalked up the steps. As he had feared, a shimmer and he ran in and closed the door, and went to the house's pinnacle to find a set of demons below. He used the WZ'RD and cracked off shot after shot at their Machines, praying he hit the regulator. The regulator was an essential part. It lined the engine. If it was pierced, the auto-recall feature on government time machines was activated. Unfortunately, Phil knew this was one battle he couldn't win. He used the WZ'RD to duplicate itself and called Keely up to help him.

"Push the green button and aim at the hood, Keely. If we cause enough damage, disable enough machines, they might stop chasing me. After all, what's one time traveler to billions in damage?"

She acquiesced, and together, they beat back wave after wave of travelers. Phil told Keely to stay there and continue attacking. Phil had an idea. He started, "Wizard. Defensive analysis of this house, and deploy measures to increase defensibility. State afterward whether you need to remain here to maintain said measures." It told him, no, it could be taken along, and transmuted the lining into Kevlar, and the vinyl into a prismatic coat that reflected blaster shots, and, when coming from the inside, transmitted them to the outside. And it barricaded the door with several elephants. Or at least that much worth of matter. He went upstairs, and brought the WZ'RD as a blaster with him. They shot, and shot, and it came to a standstill. Eventually, his antics brought in the big guns.

The Drillazer. A laser drill that had enough power to pierce the very day. He went outside, knowing that that, and that alone, could defeat him. He held up his hands, none of them knowing that the WZ'RD was set to blow in his pocket, along an irrevocable sequence. It would kill anything in a one mile radius. He threw it into the air, and dived at a time machine. Against all odds, he got in. He went back in time… just as the bomb exploded. It, unfortunately, created a quantum disturbance that made him warp in circles… in circles… in circles…

He as the highwayman rode forever.


End file.
